Wild Animal
by ZeldaStrife
Summary: On his way to Gerudo Desert, Link meets an injured horse, one that is very familiar. He recollects one more memory from his days as the princess' appointed knight. Day 08 of Linktober; vignette.


Link's footsteps had slowed to a walk as he crested Safula Hill, just southwest of Hyrule Castle. He was on his way to Gerudo territory to free the last Divine Beast. Leaving the Rito had been easier than he expected; after the friendliness of the Zora's and the Gorons, the Rito were slightly more… resentful than the other two tribes had been. True, the Zoras didn't appreciate his presence at first, but with Sidon's help, Link had once again gained favor in the court. He was curious about the Gerudo; he had barely heard about them while traveling.

As he continued on his journey, Link wished he had retrieved a horse from Outskirt Stable, but the stable had been slightly out of the way, so he had pressed on. He hadn't known this land would be so hilly.

The wild calls and shouts of nearby bokoblins alerted his attention to the west. He withdrew his Royal Bow and crouched in the grass behind a bush. This area in particular saw lots of bands of raiding monsters, especially blue bokoblins. Through the foliage, Link saw this this particular group was on horseback, all five of them. A decent sized group for bokoblins, but Link was on foot and had no means to call a horse of his own. He would have to be patient and skillful.

Link's aim with his bow was deadly accurate, and he wasted no time in felling three of the beasts in rapid succession. Their horses, no longer subject to the monster's cruelty, had run off to freer pastures. By this time, however, the remaining two had spotted him and were quick to react.

Link saw that the two were charging directly at his location, one on either side of him. He dropped his bow and quickly unsheathed his Royal Broadsword, its gold winged crossguard fitting his grip perfectly. Link held it behind him and his shield in front of him. He charged his sword, readying it for a spin attack.

The bokoblins forced their horses faster and faster, waving their spears wildly about their heads.

At just the right moment, Link unleashed his charged sword. He struck both bokoblins successfully, killing one instantly, however, the last one remained mounted on his pure white mare. Link watched as the bokoblin turned it around and charged again. Retrieving his bow from the ground, Link was quick to fire two arrows one right after the other. Each shot hit the monster, but not well enough; the force of being hit twice with arrows was enough to knock it off its horse. The bokoblin brought out its giant Dragonbone Boko Club.

Link was ready however; he deftly deflected a strike with his sword and then parried. Link backflipped out of the monster's next blow, and then was able to flurry in hit after hit after hit, finally ending the fight.

Link looked around for one of the horses that the monsters had left behind. Hopefully one would befriend him and allow him to ride it further south. The only horse left in the vicinity was the leader's horse, the pure white mare. Link had never seen another white horse like this one in the wild and he felt sorry that it had been captured by bokoblins.

Slowly, Link approached the horse; it looked tired and scared and Link could see it eyeing him suspiciously. Horses were intelligent creatures and even though Link could tell this horse recognized him as its rescuer, it was still hesitant to trust people so soon.

In a gesture of peace and calming, Link held up his hand palm up and whispered soothing words to it.

The horse whinnied and reared up on its hind legs, galloping away from Link. However it didn't get very far and it stumbled, collapsing unceremoniously in the grass.

The Hylian winced and then saw the source of its troubles: the horse was injured. On its right front leg was a bloody, dirty, and deep cut. Whether it had happened during his scuffle with the bokoblins or before he could not tell, but Link felt sorry for the creature. He continued to slowly walk towards it again.

"Don't be frightened," he said softly. "I want to help."

The horse tried to stand but was unable to do so and promptly fell down once more. Link winced and offered more kind words, meeting the horse's gaze. This time, he took out a big, long, endura carrot from his pocket and held it out in front of him.

"Please," he said. "Let me help you."

The horse regarded him warily, but didn't shy away from Link's outstretched arm. Link was patient, and simply smiled at the horse; hopefully his gaze was conveying trust to this beautiful mare. Then the horse reached out with her neck, and took the whole carrot in her mouth.

Link laughed happily and then carefully reached with his other hand to pet her long mane. "Good girl," he soothed.

He kept stroking the horse's coat as she slowly ate the rest of the carrot. As he gazed at her, Link could have sworn… he had _seen_ this very horse before, but it was just _one_ white horse. There had to be dozens more in Hyrule-

With a gasp, he remembered.

_Link cracked the reins on his copper clydesdale horse as he raced at top speed across central Hyrule Field. He was in hot pursuit of Princess Zelda for what had to be the third time in the past fortnight. It was no secret that she wasn't a fan of being escorted by her appointed knight everywhere, so she was determined to have what time she could by herself. She was not required to have him accompany her while she was within the Castle's walls, but she was ordered to take him with her whenever she ventured out. She did not make his duty any easier. _

_Where exactly she had disappeared to Link could not discern, but he had found out that she had saddled her white mare and had made for Saflura Hill. That area wasn't a particularly dangerous part of the kingdom, but more and more monsters were being spotted as the days went on. Link hoped trouble hadn't found her. _

_His clydesdale was a swift horse and she easily made the long journey in record time. Link pulled back on the reins as they reached the high ground and he squinted at the landscape, looking hard for any sign of the princess. The sun was setting, and he needed to find her before night overcame the land. _

_Then he saw her. Surely by some divine providence, Link was at the right place at the right time. He watched as she led her white horse very fast across the field at the bottom of the hill, pursued by several bokoblins also on horseback. Without wasting anymore time, he spurred his own horse and gave the monsters chase, catching up very quickly with them. _

_Link was an expert archer, and he had had the forethought to bring a Royal Knight's Bow. He quickly counted the monsters, five in total, and then took aim. One by one, he dispatched the princess's pursuers, freeing the horses from their unkind masters._

_He called to the princess, but she did not slow her horse down; he called again, and this time Zelda looked behind her, her face lit up in fear. _

"_I can't stop her! Help me, Link!" she cried. _

_Link heard her and he urged his horse to go faster, catching up with and matching the princess's horse. He grabbed the reins of the white horse, but she still galloped at top speed, and showed no signs of slowing, even with a companion horse at her side. _

"_Jump, Zelda! I'll catch you!" Link hollered. _

_Zelda was very afraid but she screwed up her face and reached out her arms to wrap them around Link's neck. He was able to somewhat lift her from the saddle, and she fell onto his own horse's back. Link hoisted her once more and she was able to lift her legs to rest in a side saddle position, facing backwards and still embracing Link with all her strength. _

_Link slowed his horse to a trot as the princess's horse continued to gallop ahead, but Link saw that she was now slowing down without the added stress of carrying a rider. _

_Zelda has closed her eyes as soon as she was safe in Link's grasp. When she felt her current ride slow, she loosened her grip around his neck and leaned back. She looked at Link as she panted to catch her breath. _

"_Thank you," she said softly through gasps. Her eyes seemed to bore straight into his very soul, and she looked at him in genuine apology for dragging him out here. _

_Link simply replied in a quiet but honest tone, "I am glad you are safe, your highness."_

Link shook his head gently once the memory had played out in his mind's eye. He remembered that day very clearly. It took place early in their relationship, mere weeks since the ceremony. But that was about all he had as far as time placement.

He looked at the white horse before him, who was still munching on a carrot. This was the princess's horse, it had to be. Link had to return it to a stable but with it injured, he knew the mare wouldn't be able to walk that far. He had not seen many travelers in this area, either. He rummaged in his bag, looking for anything that might help this horse… And he lets out a happy chuckle as he found a fairy in a bottle! He could hardly believe his luck; he barely remembered catching that fairy back near Kakariko Village, but he supposed this was why he had forgotten about it. Quickly uncorking the bottle, he freed the fairy overtop the horse's injured leg. The sprite fluttered around and around, sprinkling her essence over the horse's wound. The cut vanished in a matter of seconds. Her deed complete, the fairy flew away, back to her fountain.

The horse whinnied happily and then somewhat clumsily stood to her full height. She snorted, shaking out her mane and fluffing her tail. She looked at Link pointedly.

Link looked at her silently for a moment, before mounting her. She remained calm and neight her approval of his weight. He smiled as he gently stroked her neck. With a gentle prod, he urged her in the direction of the Gerudo Desert.


End file.
